Press: Press Features

When it appeared on the EMI Classics label in 2011, this album was notable for those tracking the gradual expansion of Chinese influence in the world of classical music and beyond: it did not originate with EMI but was licensed from China Arts International Limited. The enthusiastic applause he received in this live recording, made in 2010 at Beijing's acoustically strong National Center of the Performing Arts, is homegrown.

Wearing a casual white T-shirt paired with navy blue jeans and trendy sneakers, pianist Li Yundi looks every bit a Mando pop star. The 29-year-old is a star, a huge celebrity, but moves in very different musical circles within the world of classical performance. Last month he launched his new album Red Piano, the first in which he focuses only on Chinese folk music masterpieces.

Red Piano is the provisional title for a release worldwide in September by EMI Classics record label, and includes probably the most famous Chinese concerto, The Yellow River Piano Concerto, "Pi Huang," a Peking Opera piece newly arranged for piano and "My Motherland," a propaganda song for a 1950s Korean War movie.